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21st Century Fox Made $76B Bid for Time Warner

FBR Capital markets analyst Barton Crockett and former FCC commissioner Robert McDowell on the offer made by 21st Century Fox, the parent of FOX Business, to buyout competitor Time Warner.

Rupert Murdoch’s media behemoth made a roughly $76 billion offer in June to buy competitor Time Warner (TWX).

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21st Century Fox, the parent of FOX Business Network, offered to buy the company for $32.42 in cash, and 1.531 Fox class-A share for each Time Warner share. That equates to around $86 a share, or $76 billion.

Time Warner's board of directors rebuffed the deal, betting its own strategic plan will provide more shareholder value than the proposed buyout. The company also said it believes there is "significant risk and uncertainty as to the valuation of Twenty-First Century Fox`s non-voting stock and Twenty-First Century Fox`s ability to govern and manage a combination of the size and scale of Twenty-First Century Fox and Time Warner."

21st Century Fox confirmed it made the offer, but noted it is “not currently in any discussions with Time Warner."

Tie-Up Would Create Media Juggernaut

The New York Times reported earlier the deal would be contingent on jettisoning Time Warner’s CNN television news unit out of fear the tie-up with Fox News would spark ire from anti-trust regulators.

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The combined company would sport revenues of $65 billion, and control a slew of television channels like Fox, TNT, and HBO, along with movie studios 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros.

Time Warner shares rallied more than 13% in pre-market action, while 21st Century Fox fell 1%.